Obscured by Clouds. The rough and ready blog of a cloud benighted biologist and amateur astronomer. Astroblog will cover my interests in astronomy, biology and Life, the Universe and Everything.

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

The Sky This Week - Thursday April 4 to Thursday April 11

The New Moon is Wednesday April 10. Jupiter is prominent in the
early evening sky. Saturn becomes more prominent in the
late evening sky. Mercury is bright
in the morning skies. On April 8 and 9 Mercury is visited by the crescent Moon.

Sky on Saturday April 6 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00
local daylight saving time in South Australia. The inset shows a
telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

The New Moon is Wednesday April 10. Daylight Savings Time ends on April 7

Saturn is
now easily visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of
Libra. Saturn climbs
higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to
see.

Saturn is now is a worthwhile (late) evening target for telescopes of any size.

Morning sky on Monday April 8 showing Mercury, looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:30 am
local time in South Australia. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

Mercury is prominent in the morning skies this week. It is now easy
to see as the brightest object above the eastern twilight sky an hour
before dawn. On the mornings of the 8th and the 9th Mercury is visited by the crescent Moon.

Evening
sky looking North-west as seen from Adelaide at 20:00 pm local daylight
saving time on Saturday April 6. The inset shows Jupiter's Moons at this
time. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated here. Click to embiggen.

Jupiter is visible in the early evening, and is the brightest object in the evening sky.

Jupiter is prominent low in the northern-western early evening sky, being quite
visible in the twilight. Jupiter is below the Hyades, near the red star
Aldebaran.

Jupiter, Aldebaran and the red star Betelgeuse in Orion form a long triangle in
the sky. With the Pleiades cluster and the constellation of Orion close
by, this is a beautiful sight.

Now is still a good time to observe Jupiter with a telescope of any size
in the
early evening. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 9 pm local time, so the giant world is harder to see in a telescope. Jupiters' Moons are easily seen in binoculars, and can be
followed from night to night changing position.

There
are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. If
you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your
local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.